Immune Function and Chiropractic

On March 28, 2020, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) released a 26 page report titled, "Immune Function and Chiropractic, What Does the Evidence Provide?" This comprehensive report looks at how immunity works, its relationship to the nerve system, and how chiropractic can have a positive effect on immune function.

The report establishes that the immune system is influenced by the function of the nerve system. "Considerable evidence has mounted to support active communication between the nervous system and the immune system. The nervous system, including the brain and the peripheral divisions can either stimulate or inhibit various activities of both the innate and adaptive immune systems."

Dr Steven Welsh, president of the ICA, clarified the relationship between immune function and chiropractic by saying, "Although there are no clinical trials to substantiate a direct causal relationship between the chiropractic adjustment and increased protection from the COVID-19 virus, there is a growing body of evidence that there is a relationship between the nervous system and the immune system."

Chiropractic was founded in 1895 by D.D. Palmer, who asked the question 120 years ago as to the nature of infectious disease when he said, "One question was always uppermost in my mind in my search for the cause of disease. I desired to know why one person was ailing and his associate, eating at the same table working in the same shop, at the same bench, was not. Why? What difference was there in the two persons that caused one to have pneumonia, catarrh, typhoid or rheumatism, while his partner, similarly situated, escaped? Why?"

The report cites numerous other scientific studies and reports linking chiropractic to the effect on the nerve system, and in turn, the nerve system's affect on stress and immune function. The report notes, "As an essential health care provider, the chiropractor is in a unique position to assist their patients during this time of heightened stress. Although there are no clinical trials to substantiate a direct causal relationship between the chiropractic adjustment and increased protection from the COVID-19 virus, there is a growing body of evidence that there is a relationship between the nervous system and the immune system."

The reports conclusion states, "Chiropractic is a health care discipline which emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. It is founded upon the principle that the body’s innate recuperative power is affected by and integrated through the nervous system."